Roofs and flat roofs
One slate has slipped beside a dormer cheek and the rest of the slope is even. What fixing at that cheek was not seen from the ground?
The fixing of that slate at the dormer cheek was not seen from the ground. One slate has slipped beside the cheek, and the rest of the slope is even, so the note is local to the junction rather than a general loss of slates. From the ground the surveyor can see the gap and the slipped piece. They cannot see the nail, the clip or the batten that should have held it where it meets the cheek. The report has not said the whole slope is loose. The unseen fixing is the one at that slipped slate.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Dormer cheeks interrupt the slate courses. The slates that tuck against the cheek, and the flashing that should weather that line, are the pieces a single slip often belongs to. An even slope away from the dormer suggests the general nailing is still holding. A ground-level look cannot turn a slate over and show whether the nail has failed or the slate has simply come out of its place. The survey recorded the slip. It did not scaffold the cheek.
Ask a roofer to inspect that cheek from proper access, with the seller's agreement, and to refix or replace the slipped slate and check the weathering at the junction. Tell the solicitor the rest of the slope looked even and the fixing was not seen from the ground. Do not read one slate as a full reslate. The survey has not specified one. The job is the cheek that has already let a slate go.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which slate slipped, and which dormer cheek is it beside?
- What fixing at that cheek was not visible from the ground?
- Was the rest of the slope recorded as even?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the slip as local to the dormer cheek.
- Ask a roofer to see the fixing that the ground view missed.
- Do not turn one slate into a whole-slope renewal.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the cheek flashings look dressed, is the slate secure?
A dressed flashing is the metal or mortar at the cheek, not the nail in the slate. The survey could not see the fixing of the slipped slate from the ground. An even slope elsewhere does not hold this one piece. The flashing can look seated while the slate beside it has already moved. The unseen item is that fixing.
Should every dormer on the roof be stripped?
Not from one slipped slate. The rest of this slope is even, and the survey did not see the fixing at this cheek from the ground. Other dormers were not given this note. A roofer can check the junction that has moved. Stripping every dormer is not what the report described.